Three Ways to Tell if Your Blog Is Successful

Author: Megan Braverman | June 10, 2016

When you write a blog, it sometimes feels like you’re shouting into the wind. You think you have great content, but without getting feedback from readers, it can be hard to tell. You might even question if having a blog is worth the effort.

Don’t give up too soon! What blogs lack in two-way communication, they make up for with tons of analytics. There are a number of ways you can track who’s clicking on your blog, what they’re looking at and for how long. These metrics can help you determine your blog’s success.

The gold standard for blog measurement is Google Analytics. It’s an intuitive, easy-to-use tool that will give you all of the basic information that you’ll want to know. If you’re trying to measure something that Google Analytics can’t, your blog host or a specialized plugin might be the answer.

So what are the best metrics for measuring blog success? The ones that indicate engagement. A high number of clicks looks great on paper, but if none of your visitors are taking the time to read or share your content, your blog isn’t doing as well as it could be. Here are three metrics you should take a look at if you’re interested in measuring engagement.

Pay special attention to scroll depthAccording to the Legal Marketing Association, the best metric for measuring engagement is “scroll depth,” or how far a reader scrolls down a page before exiting. If a reader scrolls all the way to the bottom, it’s safe to assume that they at least skimmed the content. This is important to know because it shows the level of interactivity the reader has with a page. Scroll depth goes beyond just clicks and gives you a better idea of how many people actually read the post.

Consider time spentTime spent on a page isn’t a perfect metric, because time doesn’t always correlate to engagement. However, if most people aren’t spending much time on your blog, that could mean you need to adjust your content. Experiment with breaking up blocks of text, adding more photos or adjusting your writing style. If you see an increase in time spent, you’re probably on the right track.

Look for an increase in trafficSeeing an increase in traffic is a telltale sign of an increase in blog popularity. More people visiting your blog means that more people are interested in what you have to say—and those people are more likely to hire you. Unfortunately, traffic doesn’t increase overnight (usually). Instead, be on the lookout for a slow, steady increase over time. That shows a more sustainable level of growth and indicates that a larger base of people are returning to your site regularly.